LEADING THE WAY

(IN THE PHOTO: Tuesday’s press conference at Casa Milan) 
MILAN – Casa Milan held a press conference today to launch the Milan Foundation’s #rispettailmiostile project in collaboration with Braun. The initiative aims to make young people more aware of the importance of respect towards others and the styles that characterise them. The secretary of the Milan Foundation Rocco Giorgianni opened the press conference before two of the ambassadors of the project, Keisuke Honda and Nigel De Jong, answered questions: Keisuke Honda: "I had fun making the video as an ambassador for this campaign. There was a good atmosphere with Mexes, Muntari and Nigel. It was fun. I thank Braun for this opportunity. I respect the Italian style and Italians respect mine. It’s for this reason that I am happy here, even if my culture is obviously different."Nigel De Jong: "I confirm that, there was a good atmosphere at Milanello with the filming of the advert. We had fun. Respect means respect: it’s fundamental for everyone."Honda: "This is a good team and we’re behind the coach, we believe and we will do well. We started on a new path 2 months ago and we have to find new solutions for our playing style. At Verona we created lots of chances. We now have a tough fixture list, but we know what to do. We’re subjected to hard work and we’re always under observation. Myself? I haven’t changed anything since last year. I also aimed to do well last year. The coach and my team-mates have helped me a lot. I need to work hard every day for the squad. I still want to score a lot. Do I also train at home? I cannot answer (smiles) that question, it’s too personal. I always tell myself to do more. Torres and Menez? I have no worries playing with them, I like both of them, they’re good and I gladly play with both of them. I’m studying Italian, I’m now happy to be at Milanello and understanding Italian better with every day."De Jong: "We didn’t have a good game against Palermo, but we must believe in our objective which could be third or fourth place. We travel to Genoa with confidence, even if it will be hard there. I only believe in one thing: work, work, work in order to win. Montolivo? Yes, I’m missing him, he’s important, he’s the captain of this team and he’ll be back in the next 3 weeks. We must believe in our game, we win and lose together, we’re not looking for people to blame. We must improve in attack. It’s not Inzaghi’s fault if we lose a match even if he did take responsibility. We must work a lot this week to stay on our path. I’m happy here in Milan. I don’t see a problem with the contract renewal. Let’s hope. We still have time."